things don't seem to be working on USA Life too well.. Too bad.
1 SAMUEL 13 BEREAN STUDY BIBLE
War with the Philistines
1 Saul was thirty years old (a) when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. (b)
2 He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
3 Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
4 And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand (c) chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
6 Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
8 And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul.
9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
10 Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” Samuel asked.
And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
15 Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. (d) And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
Israel without Weapons
16 Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.
17 And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,
18 another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.
19 And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”
20 Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.(e)
21 The charge was a pim (f) for sharpening a plowshare or mattock, a third of a shekel for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and a third of a shekel for repointing an oxgoad. (g)
22 So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
23 And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
Footnotes:
1 a A few late LXX manuscripts; MT Saul was a son of a year
1 b Or over Israel forty years (see Acts 13:21); MT over Israel two years
5 c Some LXX manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand
15 d LXX Then Samuel set out, and the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
20 e LXX; Hebrew and plowshares ; (so plowshare appears twice in the Hebrew).
21 f A pim possibly refers to a polished stone weighing approximately 0.25 ounces or 7 grams found in excavations. This is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel and likely refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed.
21 g Hebrew does not include the currency unit of a shekel charged for sharpening a pitchfork, an axe, or an oxgoad; alternatively, possibly a third of a pim for each.
Troy D. Bohn
51m ·
The DEADLY consequences of Unforgiveness.... You've likely heard the adage, "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die." There is definitely a lot of truth to that statement --- and many have certainly become casualties to prove it!
Something else though is equally true - "Forgiveness is your willingness to swallow the poison of pride - so that others may live." [PT]
Show me a person that walks in unforgiveness and there are some characteristics that will typically always be seen in their lives:
[1] A lack of longstanding MATURE relationships. This is true because any long term relationship will always encounter times that demand looking beyond those things that might otherwise derail relationships.
Unforgiveness in a relationship [of any kind] is our pride valuing itself more than it does our love for people. No relationship can survive that type of environment.
1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
The fruit of this is often seen in: Changing jobs often because one cant get along with a boss or coworker, being in and out of opposite-sex relationships or having a constant struggle in a marital relationship, weak or non-existent family ties, bouncing from church to church.
[2] A lack of GENUINE thankfulness. Unforgiving people are seldom satisfied for any great length of time. The same poison that robs them of mature relationships is the same poison that will always skew their perspective of things. [It makes them focus on the temporal rather than the eternal]
Consider Paul's statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
Did he say "ALL" circumstances -- and not just the GOOD ones?
This is a guy that was beaten several times, rejected by his own countrymen, hungry often, shipwrecked, snake bitten, and left to die on more than one occasion - - and now he is saying "Be thankful under all circumstances."
Its challenging enough that he would do that himself - but then he goes on to declare, "This is GOD'S WILL for anyone that belongs to Jesus Christ."
Christians then MUST be thankful under all circumstances and under all conditions - - or maybe they are simply Christians in "name only."
Philippians 4:11, "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."
This "contentment" [autarkés] means to be "totally satisfied" and not merely "tolerant" of said circumstance!
[3] BITTERNESS in all areas of ones life. This is where the "poison" of unforgiveness feeds the insatiable appetite pride, jealousy and envy that it relies upon to survive.
Hebrews 12:15 says, "Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many."
Unforgiveness is never satisfied in merely occupying an otherwise empty place in your life. It dreads being alone to the point that its like a potato on a shelf for too long -- it starts to sprout roots even though there is no longer any "dirt" for it to lie in!
The roots of it will continue to grow - looking for something [someone] to attach itself to - all the while consuming itself for nourishment! It will grow smaller, grow darker, and begin to wreak of rottenness.
Unchecked it will disqualify one from the very Grace of God [His Divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in our lives] while defiling any and everything in its path.
THE SOLUTION? Its really quite simple [yet vastly misunderstood and inadequately applied] - - REPENT and BELIEVE the Gospel.
Stop your STINKING THINKING and get the MIND OF CHRIST [Romans 12:2, 15:6, 1 Cor 2:16] which is the product of a CRUCIFIED LIFE [Gal 2:20, Matt 16:24]
The mind of Christ is easily identified in our lives because the "mind of Christ" was demonstrated clearly in the words and actions of Christ.
"Father forgive them..."
"I came to serve and not to be served..."
"I lay my life down for my friends..."
Mark 4:24 [Jesus speaking], ""Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more."
I can measure out unforgveness and receive from it a poison to my very soul -- and then some. [or]
I can measure forgiveness that produces a manifold increase in thanksgiving, mercy and grace from God.
It seems like a pretty obvious choice to me!
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